Fight Over Maskhadov Burial

The refusal of the Russian authorities to hand over the body of former president of Chechnya Aslan Maskhadov to his family for burial is causing anger among Chechens of different political views.

Maskhadov’s family, most of whom are now in exile outside the republic, are mounting a campaign to have his body returned to them. However, the Russian authorities are not yielding to pressure and maintain that he is a terrorist who will be interred in an unmarked grave.

“I have every right to demand this,” a distressed Anzor Maskhadov, son of the former leader, told IWPR by telephone from Azerbaijan. “I will raise this question and I will go to the end for them to give over the body of my father. The Russian media have absolutely no proof of what they are saying, that he was a terrorist. And the whole world knows that, intelligent people know that.”

The younger Maskhadov, who left Chechnya in 1999, said he had no ambitions to be a political successor to his father, but was merely doing his duty by his family. “My duty is to demand the body,” he said. “There is nothing political in my demands. I’m not even saying that he should be given back because he is a president, just because he is head of our family.”

He said that he would like the body of Maskhadov to be buried in his home village of Alleroi in eastern Chechnya.

To justify their denial to allow Maskhadov’s body to be properly interred, the Russian authorities cite amendments to the Federal Law on Combating Terrorism, and specifically Article 16, which stipulates, “The bodies of confirmed terrorists shall not be returned for interment, and the place of their burial shall not be disclosed.”

A succession of Russian officials, including parliament speaker Boris Gryzlov, prosecutor general’s office spokesmen and military leaders, have argued that Maskhadov’s burial is covered by this law.

However, many prominent Chechens, of different political views, say the refusal to return Maskhadov’s body is an affront to their culture and religion.

“This is simply desecration of the body of a dead enemy, and nothing else,” said Ali Haji, the imam of a mosque in Grozny. “The Koran, the Bible, the New Testament and the Torah all say that this is wrong. If vandalising graveyards is considered blasphemy and a crime everywhere in the world, then what can be said about denying a human being the right to rest in peace? That’s worse than vandalism.”

Very few Chechens regard Maskhadov as a terrorist, and see him instead as a military leader and politician.

“Aslan Maskhadov by no means fits Russia’s definition of ‘terrorist’,” said Usam Baisayev of the Memorial human rights group. “He was elected president by the people of Chechnya in 1997 in an open, democratic ballot in the presence of international observers. Both Russia and the international community recognised him as legitimate. He had nothing to do with any terror attacks, and always denounced terrorism. If the presumption of innocence is to be honoured, he was no terrorist.”

This stand has been backed by Russia’s Soldiers Mothers Committee and by Chechen non-governmental organisations. The Council of Chechen NGOs, headed by well-known actress Zulaikhan Bagalova, described the move as “spitting in the face for the Chechen people”.

Weighing their words very carefully, a series of pro-Moscow Chechen politicians, including Taus Jabrailov, the head of Chechnya’s State Council, Russian parliamentary deputy Akhmar Zavgayev and Russian presidential adviser Aslanbek Aslakhanov, have also spoken out in favour of giving Maskhadov a decent burial.

Ramzan Kadyrov, son of former pro-Moscow leader Akhmad Kadyrov, who some suspect was involved in the operation to kill Maskhadov, at first promised that the body would be handed over, but the federal authorities then took charge.

The row over Maskhadov’s burial has added to controversy over the manner of his death. Many doubt the official version that he was killed in a fight at a bunker he was sheltering in on March 8 in the village of Tolstoy-Yurt.

On March 15, Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper reported that Ramzan Kadyrov had been holding talks with the rebel leader, following the seizure of Maskhadov’s relatives earlier this year. The title said that Kadyrov double-crossed Maskhadov, had him killed and then had the killing attributed to federal forces so as not to become the target of a blood feud.

In his conversation with IWPR, Anzor Maskhadov rejected this version of events, but did say his father had recently received demands from Kadyrov for ransom money for the release of family members.

Conspiracy theorists had their arguments strengthened on March 14, when Russian soldiers blew up the house in the village of Tolstoy-Yurt, near Grozny, where they claimed Maskhadov had been hiding.

“Yesterday morning, soldiers blew up the house of Musa Yusupov in whose basement Maskhadov was supposed to be hiding,” said Tolstoy-Yurt resident Suleiman Batayev, 42. “They said there was a big landmine in the basement that had to be destroyed. But why did they do it a week after the fact? I think they are just trying to cover up the truth. Everybody knows Maskhadov was not killed at Tolstoy-Yurt, and his so-called ‘bunker’ was in reality just the ordinary basement you find in every Chechen house.”

The campaign on behalf of Maskhadov’s relatives is receiving international support. Patrick Robertson, a British political consultant who organised the then Chechen president Maskhadov’s visit to London in 1998 and a dinner with former prime minister Baroness Thatcher, told IWPR he would be raising the issue with members of parliament.

“I sincerely hope that the Russian government will see fit to return Maskhadov’s body to his wife and family,” Robertson said. “It is the least respect that can be afforded to a former head of government.”

Umalt Dudayev is the pseudonym of a Chechen journalist and regular IWPR contributor from Chechnya.